Japan to tighten safety audit of airlines
Japan's transport ministry will beef up its safety audit of airlines in the wake of a cover-up scandal involving medical records of pilots.
The decision came after the ministry found that one of Japan's domestic carriers, Skynet Asia Airways, concealed the medical records of its pilots.
According to the ministry, the airline company did not correctly report on the medical histories of 10 of its pilots. The ministry says that enabled the company to maintain the number of pilots it needed.
The growing demand for pilots in Asia, along with new routes opening, have created a need for more pilots.
The transport ministry will monitor if there are similar misconducts by other airlines.
On a related development, another Japanese domestic carrier, Skymark Airlines, informed authorities on Monday that it may have to cancel more than 160 flights this month due to a shortage of pilots.
2008/06/03 05:31
NHK WORLD English